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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: prune · mine · content · racket · tube · scale · fall · stock

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. content — happy
  3. stock — goods
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. content — the amount
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. tube — the underground
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. prune — to trim
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. stock — shares
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. mine — for digging
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. fall — the season
  19. scale — size or range
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. fall — to drop
  22. tube — a container
  23. fall — to drop
  24. scale — in music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com